1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a headwear, more particularly, relates to a headwear that fits a variety of head sizes and can slightly expand to fit different head sizes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A baseball cap generally includes a crown, a visor and a sweat band. The crown receives a wearer's head and fixes the cap on the head. Accordingly, it is formed substantially in the shape of a hollow hemisphere. The crown, in general, is composed of panels or gores, which are successively stitched to form the crown. The visor is attached to the front portion of the lower edge of the crown, to protect the eyes from excessive sunlight. The sweat band is peripherally attached to the inside of the crown, along a lower edge thereof, such that it circumferentially contacts the head. The sweat band absorbs sweat to prevent it from running down onto the wearer's face, and presses the head to fix the cap on the head.
Because people have different sizes of head, size adjustable caps are preferred to fill this need. In order to meet this demand, several types of headwear have been designed, such as an adjustable cap, a free size cap and a sized cap.
FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a conventional adjustable cap.
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional adjustable cap 10 includes a crown 20 and a visor 30. The crown 20 is composed of a plurality of gores, which are connected one by one to form the crown 20. The visor 30 is attached to the crown 10 at the front portion thereof. Additionally, a sweat band may be formed on the inside of the crown 20.
In order to fit a range of head sizes, the adjustable cap 10 includes a size adjustable part, which is composed of a rear opening, a strap 42 and a buckle 44. The rear opening is formed at the rear portion of the lower edge of the crown 20. The strap 42 is provided at one end of the rear opening and the buckle 44 is at the other end corresponding to the strap 42. By lengthening or shortening the length of the strap 42 and buckling it to the buckle 44, the peripheral size of the crown 10 can be adjusted depending on the head size of the wearer.
However, the adjustable cap 10 has a drawback in that some of the wearer's hairs coming out from the rear opening, and the lower edge of the crown could be partially wrinkled or crumpled. This drawback and the wrinkling affect the aesthetic appearance of the cap. Also, it requires a wearer to manually adjust the length of the strap 42 depending on his/her own head size.
Compared with the adjustable cap, a free size cap is capable of fitting a relatively broad range of head sizes without the use of a buckle and strap, so that it overcomes some of the above problems associated with the adjustable cap. Generally, in a free size cap, the crown and/or sweat band can be elastically stretchable in the direction of circumference so as to fit a broad range of head sizes. In this instance, the crown and/or the sweat band are composed of elastic material, for example spandex or polyurethane.
When the crown and/or the sweat band are stretched depending on the head sizes, they have the restoring force and press the head in return. The restoring force of the stretchable elastic fabric helps the cap to hold the head.
However, the more the crown is stretched, the bigger the pressing force applied to the head. Also, this pressing force is continuously applied to the head, when in use. So, the wearer could find it uncomfortable when he/she wears it, and it could leave an indent mark on the head after wearing for a long time. Moreover, since the crown of a free size cap is made up of stretchable fabric, there is a problem that the crown can be wrinkled and cannot maintain its aesthetic shape when not in use.
Some prior arts are known concerning to the free size cap, as follows.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,202 to Yan relates to a multi-axially stretchable cap. According to the Yan patent, the gores of the cap are composed of multi-axially stretchable fabric, in which stretchable synthetic fiber are woven in both directions, as weft and wrap. Also, a sweat band includes a thin layer of synthetic foam material. Thus, the stretchable cap can stretch in weft and warp direction to provide an easy fit for the head. However, as the above described, the synthetic fabric can press the head with a large restoring force, when in use. Also, since the warp expands and contract in longitudinal direction and the weft in circumferential direction, the restoring forces by the weft and the warp are applied to the head independently. So, the restoring force by the weft is applied not associating with the warp, such that the wearer might still have an uncomfortable feeling while wearing the cap, in a manner similar to other free size caps. Further more, in case that the warp is elastically stretchable, the restoring force of the warp can draw the crown upward while wearing the cap, so to present the wearer an unpleasant feeling of wearing.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,410 to Lee relates to a self-sizing cap. The self-sizing cap of the Lee patent includes a crown portion, a visor and a sweat band. The crown portion is composed of triangle-shaped fabric panels and it can accommodate a range of head sizes comfortably. The sweat band is composed of two or more layers shaped into an elongated rectangle. The lower edge of the sweat band is flexibly attached to the lower peripheral edge of the crown portion, such that the sweat band can be stowed or deployed. When the sweat band is deployed, it can expand the attachment area on the wearer's head and provide more shade and warmth, and also it can have matching or contrasting color combinations.
PCT application No. WO01/05259 relates to a cap with a stretchable band. The cap includes a crown and an inner band, wherein the inner band is elastically stretchable along its direction of elongation and includes a liner for encircling the head comfortably. The crown is composed of gores and at least one of the gores is made of elastically stretchable material.
The abovementioned three patent references all are related to free size caps, which fit a relatively broad range of head sizes. The crowns of the free size caps continuously press the head and might provide the wearer with an uncomfortable feeling when in use. Moreover, the more the free size cap stretches, the more heavily the cap presses the head.
On the other hand, a sized cap is mainly made of non-stretchable material and has a fixed peripheral size. The sized cap generally includes a crown and a sweat band, which are mainly made of non-stretchable fiber. It does not have a rear opening for size adjustment, and does not elastically expand and contract. Thus, the crown of the sized cap is not wrinkled or crumpled, providing a good appearance.
The sized cap can best fit only one head size. However, it follows that many different sizes of caps should be fabricated for different head sizes. Also, depending on one's hairstyle and/or length, a sized cap could feel either too tight or loose, such that it could occasionally make the wearer feel uncomfortable.